While such machines as street cleaning machines or car washing machines have been known for a long time, and the rotary brushes utilized therewith consequently known for an equally long time, there has been a continuing problem in providing suitable means by which such brushes may be mounted onto the driving and support mechanism therefor.
In the past, such mounting means have frequently included a shaft passing all of the way through the brush with obvious, substantial increase in the weight of the assembly, as distinquished from one utilizing only stub shafts at each end, and further involving considerable inconvenience in the removal of such shaft for replacement of a brush.
In an attempt to eliminate the inconveniences of the continuous shaft extending through the brush, attempts have been made to mount stub shafts at each end of a brush. In some instances the devices are strictly mechanical, such as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 3,921,245 issued to the present applicant herein which while effective requires a number of accurately machined parts and is therefore expensive.
Other approaches to the problem of mounting for easy removability of the brush have included various kinds of pneumatic or other resilient devices within the brush core for fastening of shaft means thereto. Such are illustrated in both of U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,649,985 and 3,900,913. Here, though through-shafts are utilized in both of these patents, there are shown for easy brush replacement two types of resilient means positioned within the core and effective for expanding radially outwardly to engage the core. These likewise are reasonably effective but they are complex, require the presence of rubber or other resilient parts which tend to weaken in use and for other reasons leave much to be desired.
Accordingly, the objects of the invention include:
1. To provide mounting means for a pair of stub shafts at each respective end of a rotatable brush core, such as for brushes of the type often used in street cleaning or car washing equipment.
2. To provide brush mounting means, as aforesaid, wherein either stub shaft can be conveniently and readily removed independently of the other stub shaft.
3. To provide apparatus, as aforesaid, wherein the stub shaft is applied and removed by simple manipulation of appropriate bolts and without other procedures.
4. To provide apparatus, as aforesaid, wherein said stub shafts can be applied or removed by simple tools.
5. To provide apparatus, as aforesaid, which will be sturdy and reliable and capable of long and satisfactory use.
Other objects and purposes of this invention will be apparent to persons acquainted with brushes of this general type upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.